Tuesday, December 05, 2006

BG Painting 4 / Color Theory- Art Lozzi explains some technique

Yes John,

I saw the newest post and I sit here open-mouthed at the reaction and the responses. Above all (and I repeat) you deserve lots of praise for turning these people on and directing them, like you're satisfying a hunger. The way you describe and analyze makes it clear that you have a great sense of color yourself.

But as you point out, color sense is not a subject or an item that can be taught in a class. It's innate and it grows with exposure. Color theory? Yes. The technique of color? Yes. Psychology of color? That too. We know that color affects moods, as light does. We cannot paint with light but we can paint light itself, by using different tones, contrasts, etc. Color is a tool.

Now how does one use it? Acrylic? Water colors, oils, gouaches, pastels -you name 'em. You can slap it on, dribble it, roll it, sponge it, spray it, finger it and even glue it. But that's not what determines if the final look is good or not. If there is no inborn taste or acquired, studied, knowledge, then don't expect too much. And if you see that you don't have the feel of it, then drop it and hire someone who has it. If one exposes him-her-self to what's considered good, long enough, then it's possible that it can rub off onto him-her. Open the eyes, observe, absorb. What's good is not necessarily what's trendy. Beware of trends. Analyze: WHY do I like it? WHY is this considered good? It has to come from inside. Usually, good is lasting. And usually good will last.

The technique I used in the bgs you ask about? I don't remember. (I keep reminding you that this was 45 years ago! What were YOU doing then?). I see that I painted the sky a soft salmon pink, knowing who and what is working against it. It's always pleasant, warm and it goes with so many other colors, like a sunset. It's not dramatic. No need for drama unless the story calls for it. Yogi looks great against it...as somebody pointed out his muzzle. You?

Art Lozzi on Technique

Paint Overall BG Color FirstThis color is rolled on (onto the thickish Bristol paper we used, not board and not canvas) and everything was painted on top of it so that if there were any "holes" or spaces, the sky color would tie it all together.

You can see the peach sky in the little holes in the hills where the sponge didn't paint. This gives the effect of mixing the main BG color with the other colors in the BG and it ties them all into one harmonious color scheme.You can also see the hill color behind and through the tress and so forth.Blending the colors makes all the objects in the BG part of a family of color, rather than having a bunch of separate objects each with completely different colors splitting up the image and all competing for attention-John

FRISKETSThe brown path was a hole cut in a cel, then painted brown over the greenThe light green above the brown path was done the same way.The outlines of the foliage at the top of the BG was cut out of friskets and sponged on over the salmon sky.The tree silhouettes were cut from friskets and sponged on, that's why you see the rough edges from the rough texture of the sponge.These trees are painted with sponges and friskets.

HEAVY BLACK BRUSH OUTLINESThe black heavy lines are drawn on with brush in slow smooth controlled yet flowing natural lines.JAGGED BRUSHI think these light lines are done in a jagged brush stroke, but they may be chalk too.

What Colors To ChooseThe choices of these colors were what the artist felt were right. This is what distinguishes one from another. Same goes for the shapes, other than what the layouts called for.Use Nature's Colors to add Depth and Interesthttp://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2006/10/color-theory-neutral-or-natural-colors.htmlAnd try to use the many colors of nature itself. There is NOTHING in nature that is pure brown or green or red. Everything is a blend or a texture. Animated characters and objects, of course, have to be painted flat, but this is why a textured bg adds depth and interest. Even on a one-color wall we add a shadow or a slight texture. On a flat sky we add a slight white cloud or two. Avoid bland.

Use Contrast and Variations on a Theme To Keep Things Organic

Notice how every tree is different, as in nature: wide, thin, tall, short, various colors. Same also goes for branches, leaves, pine needles, ground plants, etc. Sometimes Art would add a lot of drawing and detail that wasn't provided in the BG layout. The bark on the tree. The free flowing patterns on the bushes etc.

This is NOT because the layout artist asked for it, but because the bg artist "felt" it. Look around you. It's all there. Look at your hand and notice the nails, skin, pores, veins, colors, tones, textures, size, shapes. And yet, every hand is different from all the others. Simple: If you don't look, you can't see.

John, how else can I say it? I hope it's useful to all those who ask. I certainly appreciate their interest to learn.

Continue it, whatever you're doing.

Best, Art Lozzi

Me, I'm being called back into the cruiseship world with a couple of new medium-sized ships to work the Aegean. Busy, but very glad.

Beautiful explanation! Art has the same way with words as he does with his paintings. Thank you for the lesson Mr. Lozzi and thank you,John for posting the pictures so well to fully understand. I'm eager to try these methods out.

Art Lozzi - Fantastic lesson! Thank you and thanks to John for sharing. I still have a lot of questions! Was this Cartoon Color paint? Obviously something that covers very opaque. Do you mix a little of the peach color in with the green to neutralize it? Or just let the BG color show through? Did you paint all the BGs in a section of the picture at the same time? Did you try to vary the color scheme from one scene to another, or keep it consistent?

How many BG artists did you train at Hannna Barbera?

Art, I wonder what your job is like on the cruise ship? It sounds like a great gig, cruising around the sunny Agean Islands, while half the US is under snow!

Thanks,so much. That helped alot. I will use it in my Banjo Beaver cartoons. I'm trying to acheve that look. When I got the Huckleberry Hound DVD earlier this year it inspired me to create cartoons again. So, Thanks. To the both of you. And awaaaaay we goooooo!

Please, dont give up as you said in a previous post. Your word in this blog makes a great diference to me. Sometimes, I learn more about many things reading your posts than in an entire period of University here in Brazilia (Brazil).

Please, dont give up as you said in a previous post. Your word in this blog makes a great diference to me. Sometimes, I learn more about many things reading your posts than in an entire period of University here in Brazilia (Brazil).

That sponge looks so useful - it's like a workhorse organic texture generator; it can look like rock, like dirty ground...I never would have figured it out.

Organic materials to get organic results - look how logical it is! And all it takes is a scanner to pop it into Flash or whatever you're working in. So simple! Why are we getting all this Atomic Betty crap??

Mr. K, I wonder if you might be kind enough to view an animation I made last week. I've desperately tried to incorporate all of the values you've been instilling on us for the past number of months, and I think it's beginning to pay off for me.

I've used line of action, strong poses, form, etc. and I'd really appreciate any comment you could give me. I personally think I'm doing pretty good for seventeen.

hey JohnI've been doing your techniques. However doing things by yourself means that you increase your chances of making mistakes without realising it. Is there a place where I can post a link to something I'm working on to get some critiques on better improving it?

Fantastic post! I wondered for many years how these beautiful backgrounds for the early HB shows were made. They truly had an unique appeal and quality. It's a great honor to hear the detailed explanation from the master himself. Thank you mr.Lozzi and John. This post will be studied by thousands of aspiring cartoonists.

Hugely inspiring stuff! So rare to hear about the process that went into this work. Sadly most people look at it like it was jut cobbled together easily or even un-thinkingly, because they view cartons as "simple."

Really what the style does in a cartoon is prove whether you really have what it takes, because anybody can lather up their stuff with detail, or make it "look cool." What cartoon stylization does is force you to do more with less, and if you don't know how to do design, all the detail in the world doesn't save you.